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Growing Young Minds 








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library of congress 


Institute of Museum and Library Services 
1800 M Street NW, 9th Floor 
Washington, DC 20036 
202-653-IMLS (4657) 
www.imls.gov 

www.facebook.com/USIMLS 
Twitter: @US_IMLS 

IMLS will provide visually impaired or learning-disabled individuals with an audio 
recording of this publication upon request. 

Printed June 2013 in the United States of America 

Project Team 

Produced by the IMLS Office of Strategic Partnerships, under the direction of 
Marsha Semmel, Director, in conjunction with the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading. 
Mamie Bittner, Director, Office of Communications and Government Affairs 
Allison Boals, Program Specialist, Office of Strategic Partnerships 

Mary Lynn Howard, Consultant and Author 
Andrea Camp, Consultant 
















CONTENTS 
A Call to Action 4 

America's New Learning Landscape 9 

10 Ways Museums and Libraries Support 
Community Early Learning Efforts 14 

More to Be Done: Toward an Agenda for 
Further Research 26 

Recommendations for Action 26 

Success Spotlights 29 

Endnotes 42 

List of Contributors 44 





























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tudy after study shows that the sooner a child begins learning, the better he or she does down the 
road ... So let's do what works, and make sure none of our children start the race of life already behind. 
Let's give our kids that chance. 

-President Barack Obama, State of the Union Address, February 12,2013 



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A CALL TO ACTION 


Libraries and museums can play a 
stronger role in early learning for all 
children. As our nation commits to 
early learning as a national priority 
essential to our economic and civic 
future, 1 it is time to become more 
intentional about deploying these 
vital community resources to this 
challenge. 


Libraries and museums are trusted, welcoming places 
where children make discoveries, deepen common 
interests, expand words and knowledge, and connect 
their natural curiosity to the wider world. Neurosci¬ 
entists tell us that the type of learning that occurs in 
these institutions—self-directed, experiential, content- 
rich—promotes executive function skills that can shape 
a child’s success in school and life. The experiences, 
resources, and interactions provided by libraries and 
museums build brains and fuel a love of learning. 


Parents know this and flock to museums and libraries 
not only to support their child’s learning but also to 
bolster their important role as their child’s first teacher. 
The Pew Research Center’s recent report, Parents' and 
Children's Special Relationship with Reading and Libraries , 


documents that an overwhelming percentage of parents 
of young children, especially those with annual incomes 
under $50,000, believe that libraries are “very impor¬ 
tant” for their children, and are eager for more and 
varied family library services. 2 


We have to work to ensure that more children and par¬ 
ents, especially those at low socioeconomic levels, can 
tap into the learning resources of libraries and muse¬ 
ums. According to a recent IMLS analysis, only 36 per¬ 
cent of children with the lowest socioeconomic status 
visited libraries in their kindergarten year, compared 
to 66 percent of children in the highest; for museums, 
these figures are 43 percent versus 65 percent. 3 Recent 
research points out that the disparity of access to learn¬ 
ing resources between children of affluence and those 
in poverty has created a knowledge gap with serious 


















implications for students’ economic 
prosperity and social mobility. 4 


These data underscore the urgency 
of this report. Libraries—public 
and school—and museums of all 
types—art, history, and children’s 
museums; science centers; nature 
centers and gardens; aquaria; and 
zoos—form an extensive, diverse 
infrastructure of informal learning 
that is equipped to deliver critical 
early learning resources to young 
children and families, especially 
those most in need. Yet, in too many 
communities, museums and libraries 
are not “at the table” helping to craft 
the policies and practices that link 
children and their families to early 
learning resources. 


It is critical to act now to incorporate, and leverage, our 
well-established informal learning system as an essen¬ 
tial component of our nation’s early learning network. 
It is a wise use of limited resources, both funding and 
human capital, that will help our nation develop the 
potential of every child and result in a stronger econ¬ 
omy, a more effective workforce, and a nation of learn¬ 
ers. With an increased focus on their capacity, these 
institutions can be more essential early learning part¬ 
ners at the community, state, and national levels. 


This report calls upon communities to engage libraries 
and museums as a key partner in comprehensive early 
learning strategies to grow young minds. It highlights 
the exciting work these institutions are doing around 
the country in partnership with communities to shape 
children’s outcomes in school and in life. We need to 
do more, especially for those low-income children who 
need more. If we can strengthen the country’s network 
of museums and libraries to be a greater force for early 
learning, effective learning opportunities for all chil¬ 
dren can deepen and grow. 
























Libraries and museums in communities across 
the country are expanding learning opportunities 
that prepare our youngest children for a lifetime 
of learning and success. 

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IN NEW YORK CITY, recess becomes a scientific experience: playground equipment created at 
the New York Hall of Science allows children to learn about the science of light in the walk-in 
kaleidoscope or the physics of sound sending messages on the giant telephone tubes. 

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IN COLUMBUS, immigrant families attend at-home parties where, among peers, public library staff 
present reading readiness materials for parents to use with their children at home. 

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IN MINNEAPOLIS, after hearing the story "Dog's Colorful Day: A Messy Story about Colors and 
Counting," children tour the Institute of Arts, hunt for a really big dog in a work of art and play with 
colors and counting. 

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IN ATLANTA, children visiting the Children's Garden at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens participate in 
cooking classes in the Edible Garden outside kitchen. 

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IN SALT LAKE CITY, children check out backpacks at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts full of puzzles, 
games, and activities and explore exhibits about Egypt, India, Europe, and America. 













Growing Young Minds 



— 





IN RICHMOND, young readers are maintaining and gaining skills, and beating the odds against 
summer slide, as they participate in the public library's research-based summer reading program. 


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IN WASHINGTON, D.C., at the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center (SEEC), educators take babies 
into different Smithsonian museums every day, exposing them to the objects, artifacts, artwork, and 
exhibitions to help build connections between the children's known worlds and the larger world 
around them. 

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IN CHARLOTTE, North Carolina's ImaginOn Center Story Lab, a joint venture of the Charlotte- 
Mecklenburg Public Library and the Children's Theater of Charlotte, young readers gather at 
workstations and use software that guides them through the process of creating a theatrical scene, 
inventing a storyline, and designing the set and costumes. 


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IN CHICAGO, at the Hamill Family Play Zoo, part of Chicago's Brookfield Zoo, children and families 
touch animals, build habitats, paint murals, examine animal x-rays, and dress up like birds while 
building new understandings of animals. 


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AS WE WORK TOGETHER TO MEET EARLY LEARNING CHALLENGES, OUR NATION'S 1 23,000 LIBRARIES AND 

17,500 museums are: 

Community anchors, cornerstones of our democracy, that provide safe and accessible civic spaces 
promoting lifelong learning, cultural enrichment, and civic engagement, especially for underserved and 
vulnerable families and their children. 

Connectors that bridge the generations and bring children, their parents, and their families together in fun 
and nonthreatening settings that build mutual knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy. 

Innovative learning specialists that create "teachable moments" through exhibits, outreach programs, and 
environments that invite hands-on experiential learning. 

Stewards of rich cultural, scientific, environmental, and historical heritages, which offer robust collections 
of resources appealing to all disciplines and levels of learners. 

Digital hubs that provide guidance for navigating new technologies and identify trusted online resources 
to help close the digital divide for all children, their parents, and caregivers. 
































Growing Young Minds 


CHILDREN'S EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT IS BUILT INTO THE ARCHITECTURE OF THEIR BRAINS 

A growing body of scientific evidence demonstrates that emotional development begins early in life and 
is closely connected with the emergence of cognitive, language, and social skills. Early emotional develop¬ 
ment lays the foundation for later academic performance, mental health, and the capacity to form suc¬ 
cessful relationships. Despite this knowledge, most policies related to early childhood focus exclusively on 
cognitive development as it relates to school readiness, neglecting the importance of such capacities as 
the ability to regulate one's own emotions and behavior and to manage successful interactions with other 
people. A report from the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child presents an overview of the 
scientific research on how a child's capacity to regulate emotions develops in a complex interaction with his 
or her environment and ongoing cognitive, motor, and social development. It then discusses the implica¬ 
tions of this research for policies affecting young children, their caregivers, and service providers. 

Source: National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. (2004). Children's Emotional Development Is Built into the 
Architecture of Their Brains: Working Paper No. 2. Retrieved from www.developingchild.harvard.edu 

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AMERICA'S NEW LEARNING 
LANDSCAPE 

Libraries and museums have a long history of serving 
young children. They are virtually everywhere—from 
the smallest tribal community to the largest metro¬ 
politan area. As community repositories of literature, 
science, and heritage, museums and libraries build on 
how children learn best, by designing and delivering 
content-rich, play-based experiences that link early 
learning best practice to books, exhibits, and collec¬ 
tions. Their resources prompt parents and caregivers 
to explore, pose questions, make connections, exchange 
information and ideas, and instill in young children not 
only a love of learning, but also the skills for learning. 
It is this established expertise that makes museums and 
libraries such valuable assets in community-wide efforts 
to promote early learning. The emerging learning land¬ 
scape makes their participation imperative. 

This new landscape redefines where, when, and how 
learning occurs, calling for innovative environments 


where skills are developed across domains and knowl¬ 
edge is transferred from one situation to another, ulti¬ 
mately building the capacity to work in a world where 
“how to know” is as important as “what to know.” ' 

New Skills for Learning 

Contributing to this expanded view of where, when, and 
how learning takes place is a growing body of research 
that draws attention to an important set of foundation 
skills, anchored in children’s early social-emotional 
development. Known as executive function, these skills 
are key to a child’s earliest brain development, building 
focus and self-control, perspective taking, communica¬ 
tion, and making connections. In the process of devel¬ 
oping these executive function skills, children use their 
social, emotional, and cognitive capacities in pursuit of 
goals. These skills are the “how” of learning, enabling 
children to master the “what” of learning—reading, 
writing, social studies, and science, technology, engi¬ 
neering, and mathematics (STEM) concepts. Taken 
together, they help children become self-directed, 
engaged learners. 
















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ibraries and museums can tackle barriers to reading proficiency. As trusted local institutions, 
museums and libraries have the convening and staying power to help communities do the hard 
work of surfacing, connecting, linking, and replicating best practice and building local capacity. 

-Ralph Smith, Managing Director, 
The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading and Senior Vice President, The Annie E. Casey Foundation 


WHY START AT BIRTH? 


Human Brain Development 

Neural Connections for Different Functions Develop Sequentially 





Source: Harvard University Center on the Developing Child 







































Growing Young Minds 


A Widening Gap 

In spite of our growing understanding that the early 
years are pivotal for later success and the recognition 
that important foundational skills and knowledge must 
be supported and nurtured during this critical period, 
too many children—especially those who are most dis¬ 
advantaged and vulnerable—continue to fall behind. Too 
many children are starting school without the language, 
cognitive, social, and emotional tools needed to succeed, 
and too many are reaching the critical third-grade mark 
unable to meet the expectations for ongoing success. 

Research shows that children who start behind will 
stay behind and in many cases continue to lose ground, 
making it more likely they will need costly remediation, 
be retained, or even drop out of school. 6 

These conditions disproportionately impact poor and 
minority children. Children who are poor—more than 
one out of five American children (22 percent) in 2010 
and 2011—are most likely to live in single-mother 
homes and be under the age of five. The result: a large 
and growing segment of young children are grow¬ 
ing up in under-resourced environments with striking 
gaps between resources and supports available to them 
as opposed to their more affluent peers. The stark dis¬ 
parities in both human and material resources between 
poor and more affluent populations has resulted in what 
Susan Neuman and Donna Celano, Giving Our Chil¬ 
dren a Fighting Chance (2012), call a “knowledge gap” and 
what David Brooks, (New York Times , 2012) and others 
are calling an “opportunity gap.” 8 By whatever name, 
it is an issue that must be addressed, and museums and 
libraries should be part of the solution. 


Percentage of Children Ages 3-6 
With Selected School Readiness Skills, 
by Poverty Status 


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100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 


■ above poverty threshold 

■ below poverty threshold 




























1 


ll 


Recognizes Counts to 20 Writes Reads words 
all letters or higher name in a book 


SELECTED SCHOOL READINESS SKILLS 


Source: O'Donnell, Kevin. Parents' Reports of the School Readiness 
of Young Children from the National Household Education Surveys 
Program of 2007, Table 2. National Center for Education Statistics. 
August 2008. www.childtrendsdatabank.org/?q=node/291 















































SAME CITY, WORLDS APART 


In their 10-year analysis of conditions impacting learning and literacy development in two Philadelphia 
neighborhoods, Neuman and Celano (2012) identified enormous disparities in resources and opportunities 
between a poor community and an affluent community, including: 

° Children who have early access to print and technology continue to build and gain knowledge. Children 
who don't have early access enter school far behind and are taught the "basics." 

° Children who read a lot know a lot. Those who don't read as much lack reading speed and comprehen¬ 
sion, reducing knowledge acquisition. 

° Children with easy and regular access to computers are comfortable using search engines, filtering and 
comparing information sources, and using computers to support learning. Children without such access 
are unfamiliar with how to navigate and make decisions about the quality of information. 


The Challenge 

The challenge now for educators, families, policy 
makers, civic leaders, community-based institutions, 
and grant makers is to work together to find solutions. 
How can we create a coordinated set of services and sup¬ 
ports that intentionally uses all learning entry points 
to effectively move children—especially those most at 
risk—successfully through the education continuum? 

Efforts to find solutions and implement strategies are 
taking place at every level of educational leadership and 
policy development. At the federal and state levels, new 
policies are being implemented to support children’s 
early learning success through broad-based systems- 
building efforts and, in communities, these policies are 
being put into practice. 


Research provides strong evidence of the critical impor¬ 
tance of community- or place-based efforts in support¬ 
ing children’s growth and development, especially in 
the earliest learning years. 9 Local conditions can have 
a major impact on whether children succeed, and chal¬ 
lenges must be addressed within the context of the 
community to assure effective solutions are reached. 
To that end, communities across the nation are coming 
together to develop plans to address problems and put 
policy strategies into action. 

At the heart of these efforts is an understanding that real 
change will only be accomplished through broad-based, 
multi-sector collaboration. Libraries and museums 
are well-positioned to be integral parts of coordinated 
efforts, but are too often untapped or disconnected 
resources in community efforts to support more posi¬ 
tive outcomes for families and children. 


12 












Growing Young Minds 


Museums and Libraries — 

Essential Community and Education Partners 

Librarians and museum professionals are important facil¬ 
itators of learning, working with families and caregivers 
and transforming visits to museums and libraries into 
“teachable moments” that connect children’s experience 
to deeper learning and knowledge. They are anchoring 
practices in research and partnering with other commu¬ 
nity service providers to provide generation-spanning, 
high-quality, informal learning opportunities. They are 
creating environments, programs, and experiences that 
expand and deepen the abilities of our youngest learn¬ 
ers, their families, and caregivers. In turn, communi¬ 
ties are beginning to recognize museums and libraries 
as key components of their early learning infrastruc¬ 
ture, and school leaders are recognizing that engaging 
museums and libraries, including school librarians, can 
improve children’s outcomes in school. 



PUBLIC LIBRARIES SURVEY IN THE UNITED STATES! CHILDREN'S PROGRAMS AND COLLECTIONS 

In the most recent national survey (2010), public libraries offered 3.75 million programs to the public. The 
majority of these programs (61.5 percent or 2.31 million) are designed for children aged 11 and younger. 
Attendance at programs increased 21.9 percent since FY 2005. 

o Public libraries' circulation continues to increase with 2.46 billion materials circulated in FY 2010, the 
highest circulation in 10 years. Circulation of children's materials has increased by 28.3 percent in the last 
10 years and comprises over one-third of all materials circulated in public libraries. 10 

























There are ten key ways in which museums and libraries are currently 
supporting communities'efforts to develop a strong start for young 
children's learning. Each way works to leverage the unique assets 
that libraries and museums offer to nurture the passion and skills for 
learning, promote seamless linkages between formal and informal 
learning, and engage children from low-income families so that they, 
too, can participate in the new learning landscape. 


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INCREASING HIGH-QUALITY EARLY 
LEARNING EXPERIENCES 


Libraries and museums provide easily accessible, high-quality early learning experiences to families and those 
who care for children outside the home. These institutions support the quality improvement efforts of many 
early learning programs; yet they play a particularly critical role for parents and providers caring for children in 
home-based programs, often called family, friend, and neighbor care. For many poor and vulnerable children, 
libraries and museums function as community “touch points,” providing engaging pathways into knowledge- and 
skill-building. 

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Every Child Ready to Read (ECRR), developed by the Public Library Association 
and the Association for Library Service to Children, is a research-based training 
model for parents and caregivers that supports early literacy development 
in children from birth to five. Grounded in six early literacy skills, the training 
uses basic, user-friendly activities to guide caregivers' and parents' abilities to 
understand and support early literacy development. The program has been 
successfully implemented by libraries across the country and is being enhanced 
with interactive online content for home use. 


4* 

For many poor and vulnerable 
children , libraries and museums 
function as community “touch 
points , ” providing engaging 
pathways into knowledge- and 
skill-building. 


The Anchorage Public Library's Ready to Read Resource Center mails books, 
puppets, CDs, and other literacy-based materials to child care providers and 
families in remote areas of Alaska. The Minnesota Children's Museum partnered 
with the St. Paul Public Library system to install children's exhibits in two 
underserved libraries to assure that families and those caring for children in family, 
friend, and neighbor care settings have local access to literacy-based interactive 
experiences. The California Science Center in Los Angeles has created Discovery 
Rooms, which include interactive exhibits, storytelling, hands-on Discovery Boxes, 
animal displays, and space for self-directed explorations of artifacts, models, and 
other materials. 


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15 









ENGAGING AND SUPPORTING FAMILIES 
AS THEIR CHILD'S FIRST TEACHERS 



As trusted community anchors, museums and libraries are natural and safe places for families to go to learn 
together and access important resources. For families who do not have other links to community information, 
museums and libraries are places—and in some communities, the only places—where they can borrow books, 
learning backpacks, and other materials for home use; learn firsthand how to actively engage in age-appropriate 
ways with their children; or locate high-quality child and health care providers and other local services. 


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Museums and libraries 
are natural and safe 
places for families to go to 
learn together and access 
important resources. 

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Family Place Libraries™, originating in New York's Middle Country Public Library, 
uses an asset-based approach to address the needs of families and caregivers with 
very young children. Research-based, Family Place focuses on the whole child and 
the role of parents as first teachers. As centers for early childhood information, parent 
education, early literacy, socialization, and family support, these full-service libraries 
serve as community destinations for families and caregivers. The Family Place model 
has been replicated in over 375 libraries in 26 states and continues to expand. 

The Dallas Museum of Art's mascot, Arturo the parrot, and his giant nest, welcomes 
young children and their families to the museum and its collections, with on-site 
story times, tours, art classes, and parent and family workshops and a rich collection 
of online resources. In partnership with four school districts and the National Council 
of Jewish Women, the museum hosts parents and preschoolers participating in the 
Home Instruction of Parents and Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY), a nationally recog¬ 
nized, research-based home visiting program targeting families speaking English as a 
second language. 








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PARENTS AND CHILDREN'S SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH READING AND LIBRARIES, PEW RESEARCH CENTER 

Parents have a special relationship with libraries; 84 percent of parents with a child 5 years or younger say 
libraries are "very important." Most parents (86 percent) say libraries should coordinate more closely with 
schools to offer resources for children and offer free early literacy programs to help young children prepare 
for school. 

Major reasons libraries are important to parents of children under 6 years: 

° 86 percent say libraries help develop a love of reading and books; 

81 percent say libraries provide access to information and resources not available at home; and 
° 71 percent say libraries are a safe place for children. 

For parents earning less than $50,000 per year, libraries play an especially important role. In addition to the 
reasons above, a larger percentage of these parents cite the role of the librarian to help find information, 
free access to the Internet, quiet study spaces, broader selections of e-books, and more interactive learning 
experiences' 1 




17 























SUPPORTING DEVELOPMENT OF EXECUTIVE FUNCTION AND "DEEPER 
LEARNING" SKILLS THROUGH LITERACY AND STEM-BASED EXPERIENCES 


Museums and libraries help lay the foundations for later learning and academic and career success, including basic 
literacy, reading, and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). They are adept “brain builders,” 
offering learning environments that address the important social, emotional, and cognitive aspects of learning that 
include persistence, self-direction, critical thinking, and problem solving. Through these skills, children learn to 
communicate effectively with others, improve reading comprehension, and apply what they know to new situations. 


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Children learn to com¬ 
municate effectively with 
others , improve reading 
comprehension , and apply 
what they know to new 
situations. 


The New York Hall of Science has created a "Little Makers" program for children 
aged 3 to 6. The program melds STEM learning and the arts through hands-on 
investigations and problem-based activities where children share what they have 
made through storytelling, a technique that solidifies scientific concepts and 
promotes the development of literacy and communication skills. 

The Yew Dell Botanical Gardens in Crestwood, Kentucky, offers nature and 
garden backpacks containing bug catchers, magnifiers, nature guides, and sketch 
books; "Books and Blankets" baskets that include children's books and blankets 
for families to read with children in the gardens; and scavenger hunts to develop 
vocabulary and problem-solving skills. 


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18 











CREATING SEAMLESS LINKS ACROSS EARLY 
LEARNING ANDTHE EARLY GRADES 

Libraries and museums support a growing number of school-based efforts to build a coordinated set of learning 
experiences and effective transition practices that span preschool through third grade. A P-3 continuum is increas¬ 
ingly recognized as an important component in assuring academic success beyond grade three. 12 Museums and 
libraries are developing multi-level curricula that scaffold increasingly advancing skills and knowledge as well as 
partnerships that promote a smooth transition into kindergarten. 13 



OCKXXX 


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The Long Island Children's Museum's "Juntos al Kinder/Together to 
Kindergarten" helps local immigrant families with limited English proficiency 
acclimate to the culture of the American classroom and navigate the school 
registration process. This program began serving area Spanish-speaking families 
and now also works with new Haitian immigrants. 

The Dayton Metro Library system is a partner in the city's "Passport to 
Kindergarten" program, designed to help preschoolers prepare for kindergarten 
through a focus on building oral language skills and vocabulary. 

The Normal Park Museum Magnet School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, serves 
children from pre-K through eighth grade. Since 2001, the school has dramatically 
increased student proficiency in reading and language arts. Key to its success 
has been the school's partnership with seven local museums. Each unit of study 
involves children in a nine-week inquiry in which they ask questions, pursue 
answers through direct experience, and share what they learn through the 
creation of museum-quality exhibits. 


A P-3 continuum is 
increasingly recognized as 
an important component in 
assuring academic success 
beyond grade three. 

©ooooooooooooo 


19 










POSITIONING CHILDREN FOR MEETING EXPECTATIONS OF THE 
COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS 



Museums and libraries are stewards of cultural, scientific, historical, and environmental heritage, offering rich col¬ 
lections of books and objects that span all disciplines and knowledge levels. They offer exhibits, environments, and 
programs that foster the interest-driven and project-based learning that is emphasized in the new K-12 Common 
Core State Standards for Literacy and Math and the Next Generation Science Standards. Museum and library 
staffs are experienced in the inquiry-based pedagogy that the standards demand and serve as “knowledge naviga¬ 
tors” who can support teachers in meeting these new learning benchmarks. School librarians play a particularly 
significant role. They can identify valuable resources for fellow educators, co-teach lessons, and help design proj¬ 
ect-based learning experiences. 


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Museums and libraries offer 
exhibits , environments , 
and programs that foster 
interest-driven and 
project-based learning. 


The Nashville Public Library's Limitless Libraries program works with all 
elementary school students in the city. The program builds strong multilingual, 
multi-format collections; "curated" digital collections for young children; and 
resources for school librarians and teachers through cross-format literacy 
supplemental kits that focus on common nonfiction themes that support the 
Common Core curriculum. 

At The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan, the "Be an Innovator Like.. .Henry 
Ford or.. .Rosa Parks" activity book series (and related web-based Innovation 101 
resources) combines history, STEM, and literacy. Using visual thinking strategies 
(VTS), mapping, vocabulary-building, spelling, comprehension, and creative 
writing, young children are encouraged to think critically across these disciplines. 
With the successful completion of a pilot phase, the program is now expanding 
its national reach. 


oooooooooooooo 


The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute's "Heritage Alive" incorporates 
reading and literature-based activities as tools for building problem-solving, 
critical thinking, and broad-based communication skills. Monthly, classroom 
teachers receive a book based on the civil rights movement and its leaders, a 
corresponding syllabus that includes project-based activities, and a bibliography 
of related texts to build content knowledge and disciplinary literacy. 







ADDRESSING THE SUMMER SLIDE 


Libraries and museums are important partners in efforts to help children sustain learning during the summer 
months when too many children are losing ground as a result of not having access to resources. 14 Visitation at 
museums increases over the summer months, and many offer special programs for children that continue content 
and skill learning and provide motivation to read. School and public libraries help assure that children have access 
to materials they need to maintain and even advance their reading skills over the summer months. Public libraries 
have long been anchors for community-wide activities to address summer reading loss. Today’s efforts are tailored 
to school expectations, standards, and student progress, with strong evaluation components. School libraries work 
with local public libraries to promote summer reading and implement a number of school-based efforts. Library/ 
museum innovations include creating “pop-up” libraries in places such as farmers’ markets and shopping centers; 
offering summer museum programs that align with school curricula; and providing focused individualized tutor¬ 
ing in neighborhood libraries. 



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The Collaborative Summer Library Program is a consortium of all 50 states, the 
District of Columbia, and the territories, working together to provide high-quality 
summer reading materials for children at the lowest cost to libraries. By selecting 
a common theme each year, participating libraries leverage resources while 
planning programs that address the needs of their local patrons. 

The Southern Pines, North Carolina, Public Library is a core partner in an 
intensive program run by the school system, local Boys and Girls clubs, and a 
local neighborhood revitalization group. The school system identifies youth 
participants for the six-week, full-day program at the local Boys and Girls Club. 
Morning activities are academically focused, while the afternoon includes 
experiential activities. 

The Franklin Institute partners with the Free Library of Philadelphia and 

educators in multiple informal settings to deliver "LEAP into Science," a project 
that integrates hands-on science learning and early literacy. Workshops for 
children in grades preK-5 and caregivers include book selections and hands-on 
activities explicitly linked to content and strategies for engaging children in 
science and literacy. "LEAP into Science" is now being piloted nationally at 11 sites, 
including 27 partnering organizations nationwide. 


School and public libraries 
help assure that children have 
access to materials they 
need to maintain and even 
advance their reading skills over 
the summer months. 

oooooooooooooo 


21 
















LINKING NEW DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES TO LEARNING 


With their free public access to the Internet, libraries are important community digital hubs, with expertise in 
promoting digital, media, and information literacy. Museums and school and public libraries are rich sources 
of accessible digital media, educational apps, videos, and audio- and e-books, with staff trained to help parents 
and youth select age-appropriate, content-based, curriculum-linked materials. They help close the digital divide 
for children, families, and caregivers who lack alternate sources of access. The growth of digital resource use in 
schools, aligned with the Common Core State Standards for Literacy and Math, points to an enhanced role for 
school librarians. They can help classroom teachers integrate technology into their course design and work with 
students to hone their digital and media literacy competencies, thus building new digital citizens. 


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C>OOCxX>O<><>0*X><><X><X><X><><X><><><X>O<X><X><X><X><>^^ 


At the Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA), children and their families 
visit and explore the collections at the museum through a digital application 
called Destination Modern Art. Led by a friendly alien guide, this interactive online 
tour of MoMA's galleries and affiliate MoMA PS1 gives children the opportunity to 
learn about the collections; take a guided, detailed look at each work of art; hear 
facts and stories about the artists and their technigues; and engage in online and 
at-home activities. 

The Casa Grande Public Library, in Casa Grande, Arizona, has created a pro¬ 
gram for children and families that encourages early literacy and familiarity with 
child-appropriate digital resources. The library offers more than 1,200 e-books 
on 25 digital e-readers and schedules regular Digital Story Times for families and 
children aged 3 and older. Each adult and child receives an e-reader, and, sitting 
together, they follow along as the librarian reads the story. 


Museums and school and 
public libraries are rich sources 
of accessible digital media , 
educational apps, videos , and 
audio- and e-books. 

oooooooooooooo 


22 







IMPROVING FAMILY HEALTH AND NUTRITION 



Children’s learning is inextricably linked to their health, with research demonstrating that health disparities for 
low-income families directly impact development and school performance. 1 ' Museums and libraries help ensure 
that all families have access to needed health information and resources. Many offer developmental screenings and 
vaccination programs that can impact such school-related issues as chronic absence; as well as advice and programs 
on nutrition, exercise, and gardening; and healthy activities for family members of all ages. 


00<X»00<X><X><>5<><X><X><><><><X><><><>00<><>0<><>0<X><><X><><X><><X><>C><X><><>0 


The Association of Children's Museums' Good to Grow ® initiative provides a 
framework for museums to provide healthy choices and activities for children and 
families. The Association's "Going Wild in Children's Museums" program has sup¬ 
ported, in partnership with the National Wildlife Federation, pilot sites that create 
outdoor spaces to connect children and families to natural outdoor settings. The 
sites include a Driftwood Fort on Puget Sound (Hands On Children's Museum, 
Olympia, Washington) and stream tables and water play, berm tunnels, a mon¬ 
arch watch site, and a native medicinal plants garden in Topeka (Kansas Children's 
Discovery Center). 

Through the Let's Move! Museums & Gardens initiative, more than 600 museums 
and gardens across the country are contributing to First Lady Michelle Obama's 
Let's Move! campaign to combat childhood obesity. The Institute of Museum and 
Library Services has joined forces with seven national museum associations in 
support of the initiative. Participating museums and gardens work to offer exhib¬ 
its, programs, and visitor services that promote healthy habits, nutritious eating, 
and physical activity. In addition to its heirloom vegetable garden and related 
workshops, Old World Wisconsin— a Wisconsin historic site in Eagle—offers 
many opportunities for improving health through physical exercise. Activities 
include the "Bustle-Hustle" 5K, children's games, Eagle Diamond vintage baseball, 
and barn dances. 


4C 

Museums and libraries 
help ensure that all families 
have access to needed health 
information and resources. 

ooooocoooooooo 













LEVERAGING COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS 



Libraries and museums have long recognized the importance of establishing cross-sector partnerships to map and 
address gaps in early learning service provision and programs. They have worked with schools and extended day 
and early learning programs, including co-locating Head Start centers in many museums and libraries. They also 
partner with family health centers and home visiting programs, as well as public housing authorities, municipal 
governments, corporations, universities, and local public broadcasting stations. 


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Reflecting a strong state and community focus on third-grade reading, 
evidenced by the recent Ohio Third Grade Reading Guarantee legislation, the 
Columbus Metropolitan Library has created a comprehensive Young Minds 
initiative, focused on kindergarten readiness, third-grade reading, and high 
school graduation. Building on its significant early learning work, the library 
will soon launch the SPARK school readiness program with Columbus Public 
Schools and Learn4Life, linking home visiting for 4-year-olds with effective 
transitions and ongoing support in kindergarten and beyond. 

Fifteen Denver arts and cultural organizations are partnering with the 
City of Denver in the 5 By 5 Program, providing Denver's young children and 
their families free access to at least five cultural experiences by the age of 
five. Programs are offered in 15 Denver museums, libraries, the zoo, aquarium, 
botanic gardens, performing arts events, and recreation centers. 


Libraries and museums have 
long recognized the importance of 
establishing cross-sector partner¬ 
ships to map and address gaps in 
early learning service provision 
and programs. 


oooooooooooooo 












ADDING CAPACITY TO EARLY LEARNING NETWORKS 


State library administrative agencies and, in many states, museum associations can help link libraries and museums 
with state-based policies and programs. They stand ready to participate actively as a growing number of states 
build shared, seamless, outcomes-based systems of care, services, education, and family supports for young chil¬ 
dren. Taking the lead from federal initiatives, these efforts include both policy and practice that promote compre¬ 
hensive early learning systems-building for all children. 



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In response to the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina, the Louisiana Children's 
Museum is expanding its role through the creation of the Early Learning Village. 
This project brings together a diverse group of state- and local-level partners. 

The Village will co-locate the museum with centers for literacy, parenting, early 
childhood research, nature, health, and child care. 

In 2011, the head of the Colorado State Library System joined the Governor, Lt. 
Governor, and a number of other state leaders on a bus tour designed to collect 
community input on the state of early literacy in Colorado. This statewide tour 
launched the Colorado Reads: Early Literacy Initiative that continues to guide state 
policy to boost early literacy efforts throughout the state. 


4C 

Libraries and museums stand 
ready to participate actively as a 
growing number of states build 
shared, seamless, outcomes-based 
syste?ns of care, services , 
education, and family supports 
for young children. 


The Arlington, Texas, Public Library is leading a planning effort to create a 
more coordinated approach to school readiness. The library is bringing together 
leaders from the school districts, United Way, Head Start, and other organizations 
to address low readiness scores and fragmented services. Using the National 
Neighborhood Indicators Partnership (NNIP) model, they are analyzing neighbor¬ 
hood data to fill gaps in services and programs. 


25 




















MORE TO BE DONE: 

TOWARD AN AGENDA FOR 
FURTHER RESEARCH 

Although this report references a number of completed 
and ongoing research and evaluation studies about the 
scope and impact of libraries and museums on the devel¬ 
opment of young children, there is still much we do not 
know. Here are some questions for further study: 

What effect do libraries and museums exert on the 
developing child? Is the effect more pronounced for 
certain domains of development? 

How long lasting is the effect of an isolated visit to 
a library or museum? What is the effect of multiple 
visits, whether clustered or spread out over time? 

What is the relationship between what children 
experience when they visit libraries and museums 
and their access to resources in their home and early 
care environment? 

Which programs offered by libraries and museums 
to their youngest patrons work to support school 
readiness and to improve learning outcomes? In 
particular, what programs work for children who are 
at risk? 

How often do children need to visit libraries and 
museums to benefit from the programs and resources 
offered by these environments? Is there a critical 
window during the early years in which earlier or 
repeated exposure that is associated with improved 
outcomes? 


What are the effects—short- and long-term—of 
library and museum visitation at a young age on the 
development of skills that children need to succeed 
in school and beyond? 

Is there an age at which it is critical that children gain 
exposure to the kinds of programs, resources, and 
experiences that are found in libraries and museums? 

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACTION 

Today, leaders from every sector of our society recognize 
that early learning is critical to our civic and economic 
future. Our country must strategically use its existing re¬ 
sources wisely in a collective effort to close knowledge 
and opportunity gaps and give all children a strong start 
in learning. 

As dais report illustrates, libraries and museums are up 
to the task. They have used their roles as trusted com¬ 
munity anchors, family learning centers, innovative 
learning specialists, cultural stewards, and digital hubs 
to support and expand early learning opportunities. In 
communities across the country, museums and libraries 
provide safe, accessible learning spaces; engage parents 
and caregivers; and create fun and enriching program¬ 
ming for children to be ready for school, college, and 
career. 

It is time now to tap their enormous potential as key 
contributors to federal, state, and community efforts to 
improve early learning outcomes, increase school readi¬ 
ness, and ensure that all children are reading and suc¬ 
ceeding at grade three and beyond. 


26 








Growing Young Minds 



Everyone has a role to play. 


*ooooooooooooooooooo<x>o<>ooooooo<>c<><>oo<><x><>c>ooo<>ooooo<>oo<><>o<><x>ooooooooo<>ooooooooooooooooooooooo<>ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo; oooooooo< 


Federal policy makers can: 

Leverage grants that support museums and libraries 
as learning partners by including them in funding 
priorities and recognizing their contributions to the 
development of and accessibility to digital resources. 

Support a research agenda to identify evidence-based 
best practices for early learning in museums and 
libraries and to create appropriate, valid, and reliable 
assessment tools to measure impact and child out¬ 
comes in informal learning settings. 

° Invest in professional development and resources for 
museum and library staff that will enable them to 
align their early learning programs and priorities. 

State policy makers can: 

Recognize museums and libraries in early learn¬ 
ing policy decisions by including them in efforts to 
increase access to quality early learning opportuni¬ 
ties and recognizing their unique potential to reach 
children being cared for at home or in family, friend, 
and neighbor care. 

Link museum and library services more intention¬ 
ally to P-12 education by supporting partnerships 
to expand learning opportunities beyond the school 


room and the school year and to help smooth the 
transition from preschool to kindergarten. 

Incorporate museums and libraries into state-sup¬ 
ported, community-based initiatives by recogniz¬ 
ing them as resource hubs for health, education, and 
family support information and service delivery and 
as important members of cross-agency early learning 
planning teams. 

Communities can: 

Include museums and libraries in initiatives designed 
to increase family engagement in school readiness 
and transition to kindergarten. 

Leverage community resources and services to make 
it possible for underserved, vulnerable families and 
children to access libraries and museums (e.g., trans¬ 
portation, reduced-fee structures). 

Use library and museum facilities as community 
gathering places and digital learning hubs. 

Launch public information campaigns that raise 
awareness of the roles museums and libraries play in 
supporting early learning. 













Districts, schools, and early learning programs can: 

Offer joint professional development to teachers and 
museum and library staff to create a common under¬ 
standing of standards, curricula, and instructional 
practices in schools and the available resources at 
museums and libraries. 

Establish partnerships with local libraries and muse¬ 
ums to provide programs and services that support 
new expectations for building content knowledge. 

Fully engage school librarians as important learning 
and literacy resources. 

Consider leveraging family engagement expertise 
and programs in museums and libraries to supple¬ 
ment school-based efforts, including involving 
families in supporting their children’s transition to 
kindergarten. 

Museums and libraries can: 

Establish strong partnerships with a wide range of 
community organizations. 

Provide parental and family support and access to 
quality programs and services, especially for vulner¬ 
able populations. 

Create links to schools that support local education 
priorities and policies, including Common Core and 
other state standards. 

Incorporate recent research on the brain, executive 
function, and learning into exhibits and programs. 

Embed rigorous evaluation into program develop¬ 
ment and base programs on research and evidence. 


Parents, grandparents, and caregivers can: 

Visit libraries and museums with their children to 
participate in activities that support child develop¬ 
ment and learning. 

Speak up to staff about the programs and services they 
would like to see in their local library and museum. 

Find out whether their local museum or library has 
resources that can help with their child’s transition to 
kindergarten, homework, or health and nutrition needs. 

Funders can: 

Endorse public-private partnerships to advance the 
role of museums and libraries in early learning. 

Develop grant initiatives to support innovative part¬ 
nerships among libraries, museums, and other com¬ 
munity organizations. 

Support research about the impact of libraries and 
museums on the development of young children. 

To create a vibrant, engaging environment for our 
next generation of learners, especially for those 
young children most at risk, we will all need to: 

Recognize the important resources that museums 
and libraries can bring to advance an early learning 
agenda at the federal, state, and community levels. 

Pledge to include museums and libraries in new 
efforts to create strong and sustainable systems of 
early learning. 

Develop strategies that intentionally link the infor¬ 
mal resources and services of museums and libraries 
to current early learning policies and priorities. 










LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS AS KEY PARTNERS 
IN COMMUNITY EARLY LEARNING EFFORTS 















The following profiles represent current work in 
museums and libraries to address our children's early learning needs. 


CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF MANHATTAN: 
PLACE-BASED SOLUTIONS TO 
NATIONAL ISSUES 

The Children’s Museum of Manhattan (CMOM) 
has developed a comprehensive model of community 
engagement that educates children and families by com¬ 
bining the arts, literacy, health, math, and early child¬ 
hood education. Literacy is a central component in each 
program. CMOM connects government agencies and 
community-based efforts to leverage existing networks 
and align resources within individual neighborhoods to 
support low-income children and families. 

CMOM’s model of community engagement is exempli¬ 
fied by the EatPlayGrow™ Health Initiative. Launched 
in 2009, in cooperation with the National Institutes of 
Health (NIH) and a national advisory board of pedi¬ 
atric and health experts, researchers, and community 
partners, EatPlayGrow™ is an 11-lesson curriculum 
adapted from NIH’s We Can obesity prevention pro¬ 
gram, and is designed specifically for children aged 6 and 
younger and their adult caregivers. Combining NIH 
science and research with CMOM’s arts and literacy- 
based pedagogy, the curriculum is being implemented 
in both informal and formal learning environments 
where it provides: 


Parent and child engagement programs for low- 
income families (tested and evaluated at community 
centers in the South Bronx and New Orleans); 

Professional development for adults who work with 
young children from low-income families (piloted in 
Head Start with at-home care providers at CMOM); 

EatPlayGrow™ Building Health Every Day! inter¬ 
active health exhibit at CMOM and accompanying 
programming; and 

Exhibit replication plans for small museums, librar¬ 
ies, and community centers. 

CMOM works to deepen community engagement and 
enhance the impact of the EatPlayGrow™ curriculum 
in the community by building a network of commu¬ 
nity-based organizations and city agencies to expand 
health education to high-need communities. Commu¬ 
nity partners include: Community Health Care Asso¬ 
ciation of NYC, United Way of NYC, Administration 
for Children’s Services, Head Start, City University of 
New York’s Professional Development Institute, School 
of Public Health at Hunter College, Lincoln Center 
Atrium, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s 
Nurse Family Partnership and Women-Infants-Children 
Program, and the New York City Housing Authority. 













Growing Young Minds 





In 2009, CMOM conducted a series of third-party pilot 
evaluations to assess the impact of the EatPlayGrow™ 
curriculum on participants’ health knowledge, attitudes, 
and behaviors. Findings emphasized the importance of 
working with children at a young age. Across informal 
and formal settings, and with demographically diverse 
low-income audiences, participants indicated changes 
to their purchasing preferences and food habits, and 
showed positive shifts in attitudinal and behavioral 
changes about food, physical activity, and sleep. 

In the coming years, CMOM will continue to rep¬ 
licate and disseminate the curriculum and conduct 


professional development trainings; establish a partner¬ 
ship with the City University of New York’s School of 
Public Health at Hunter College to evaluate the Eat¬ 
PlayGrow™ exhibit; and work with the New York City 
Housing Authority to bring exhibits and programming 
to public housing in East Harlem, ideally transform¬ 
ing the facility into a community hub and a model for 
future museum and public housing collaborations. In 
2013, the NIH will publish CMOM’s EatPlayGrow™ 
curriculum as a federally approved health curriculum 
for early childhood audiences. 

















IDAHO: STATEWIDE APPROACH TO 
BUILDING EARLY LITERACY AND 
READING 

There is growing consensus in Idaho that school-ready 
children reading at grade level require a statewide 
system of support. Libraries and their partners are 
building a collaborative effort to educate the public and 
unite stakeholders to increase early literacy for their 
youngest citizens. 

The Idaho Commission for Libraries (ICfL) launched 
a statewide effort to increase the reading readiness of 
Idaho children by building the capacity of families and 
caregivers to nurture literacy skills and support chil¬ 
dren’s development as independent readers and lifelong 
learners. Focused primarily on low-income rural fami¬ 
lies with young children, “Routes to Reading: Idaho 
Paves the Way with Access to Print” will address a critical 
need to increase access to books; provide information to 
families and caregivers on how to support early literacy 
development; and address the challenge of encouraging 
low-income families to check out books by building the 
institutional capacity to effectively serve families. 

In Idaho, 43 percent of young children enter school 
unprepared, 31 percent of fourth graders score below the 
national basic reading level, and state funding for early 
learning is among the lowest in the country. To address 
those challenges, the Routes to Reading strategy includes 
services and supports for families and caregivers and the 
development of a statewide network of communities to 
sustain and increase place-based literacy plans. Services 
to families, caregivers, and children include: 


Books to Go, providing continuous, convenient, no- 
cost avenues to access themed book bags with exten¬ 
sion activities available for check-out from local 
early learning programs (reading partners) including 
Head Start, child care centers, and family child care 
homes. Books to Go kits will be available statewide 
at 250 reading partner sites, ultimately reaching over 
15,000 children; 

Virtual Story Time, a parent-friendly web-based 
resource to access e-books and activities in English 
and Spanish, video clips modeling use of fingerplays, 
rhymes, and songs, as well as other educational 
information; and 

Access to professional development and training for 
reading partners and other local providers. Through 
a partnership with the Idaho Association for the 
Education of Young Children, training participants 
can attain Idaho STARS credit—the state’s early 
childhood quality rating and improvement system. 

A third-party evaluator is working with the Books to 
Go program to conduct qualitative analysis of partici¬ 
pant perspectives and a quasi-experimental evaluation 
measuring the impact on early literacy development. 



32 











Growing Young Minds 



CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF HOUSTON: 
BUILDING COMMUNITY THROUGH 
PROGRAMS AND PARTNERSHIPS 


To meet the learning challenges of Houston families 
most in need, the Children’s Museum (CMH) takes an 
intentional approach to developing programming and 
services. The museum participates in the city’s Cam¬ 
paign for Grade-Level Reading initiative and designs all 
of its programs for national replication and scalability. 


Some of CMH’s major programs and partnerships 
include: 

The Family Literacy Involvement Program (FLIP), 
developed in partnership with the Houston Public 
Library. FLIP is a citywide system to increase 
family learning by circulating 2,040 literacy kits that 
include a book and hands-on activities to build lit¬ 
eracy skills. Developed with support from the Chil¬ 
dren’s Learning Institute at the University of Texas, 
the kits are research-based and now used in cities 
across the country. An evaluation of the FLIP kits on 
home reading practices and parental understanding 
of children’s skills and interests showed significant 
differences between the treatment and control fami¬ 
lies. Currently, the museum and library are partner¬ 
ing to use FLIP kits as part of a Pop-Up Library 
program designed to address summer learning loss. 

Parent Stars, developed in partnership with the Hous¬ 
ton Independent School District, provides adults 



with activities and strategies to support children’s 
math, reading, and science learning out of school. 
All activities align with state standards and specific 
elementary levels. School administrators choose 
from options to design their own programs, which 
are then directed by CMH staff. Programs include 
both family learning events and parent workshops. 

A’STEAM (Afterschool Science, Technology, Engi¬ 
neering, Art, and Math) trains after-school program 
facilitators to engage children in over 40 CMH 
Investigations that include a series of challenges to 
apply their knowledge and collaboratively solve real- 
world style problems. The museum partners with 
the YMCA of Greater Houston to implement cur¬ 
riculum units over the summer months. 

CMH, in partnership with the Houston Public 
Library, designed Para Los Ninos workshops to help 
Spanish-speaking families engage their young chil¬ 
dren in educational activities. In Houston, the pro¬ 
gram serves 7,000 parents and children per year and 
is delivered in over 30 public libraries in the Houston 
area; it has been adopted by other libraries nationally. 

21-Tech allows visitors to learn about exhibits through 
personal mobile technologies (PMT’s). Trained 
museum facilitators use the technology to directly 
involve children and families in learning through a 
growing number of curated apps linked to museum 
exhibits, including “Tot Spot,” an interactive play 
space for children under three. 


























WASHINGTON STATE: GETTING TO THE 
TABLE 

By proactively responding to new initiatives and policy 
actions, libraries across Washington have secured their 
position as key players in statewide early learning efforts. 

In 1998, the Governor’s Commission on Early Learning 
convened to identify and address early learning chal¬ 
lenges. Libraries sought but were unsuccessful in gain¬ 
ing a place on the Commission. Undeterred, a group 
of librarians obtained funds from the State Library 
to develop their own project, the Washington Early 
Learning Initiative (2000-2003), which built a strong 
foundation for early education in Washington libraries 
and established partnerships with other child-serving 
organizations. According to the program director, “We 
may not have been at the first table, the governor’s com¬ 
mission. But we had succeeded in bringing members of 
this group and others to our table and opening a dia¬ 
logue with organizations and agencies previously unfa¬ 
miliar with public library service” (Nelson, 2001). 

Additional funding enabled libraries to expand their 
role as partners in early literacy and learning initiatives, 
but they still desired more permanent partnerships in 
the statewide infrastructure. In 2007, the Early Learn¬ 
ing Public Library Partnership (ELPLP) was formed. 
Members (26 public libraries) contribute an agreed- 
upon percentage of their annual operating budgets 
to contract with the Foundation for Early Learning, 
which, in turn, assists libraries and others to establish 
early learning partnerships and enter the mainstream of 
early learning efforts. Activities include: providing leg¬ 
islative testimony in support of continuing state early 
learning funding; providing input on the development 


of the Washington State Early Learning Plan; hosting 
Early Learning Community Fairs; serving as mem¬ 
bers of community early learning coalitions; and com¬ 
missioning an evaluation study of the effectiveness of 
library story times. 

In 2006, a task force of library directors identified the 
lack of outcome-based evaluation of library programs 
and documentation of best practices as a barrier to 
participation in state early learning and literacy ini¬ 
tiatives. Assessment and monitoring of outcomes was 
a well-established priority for the state, and libraries 
recognized the need to find valid and reliable means 
to measure early literacy outcomes. The LIniversity of 
Washington Information School, in partnership with 
the with the ELPLP, the Foundation for Early Learn¬ 
ing and the State Library, designed a rigorous assess¬ 
ment of library story times on child outcomes, which is 
currently underway. 

The team first developed tools to measure outcomes for 
children in informal settings and then collected data 
in 40 libraries randomly chosen throughout the state. 
Using the results of the year-one data, in year two the 
team developed a research-based training and delivered 
it to a selected random sample of 20 librarians. After a 
second data collection, statistical analysis will compare 
the children and librarians in the experimental group 
with those in the control group to determine whether 
these children demonstrate more growth in early liter¬ 
acy skills. The project will also document improvements 
in story times specifically related to early learning. In 
year three of the project, stated outcomes will be used 
to strengthen partnerships around early literacy prac¬ 
tices and findings and tools will be disseminated to 
other libraries and states. 








RICHMOND PUBLIC LIBRARY: FROM 
SUMMER SLIDETO SUMMER SUCCESS 

The Richmond Public Library has a long history of 
identifying community needs and working with com¬ 
munity partners to provide solutions. Based on this 
expertise, the library serves as the lead agency for Rich¬ 
mond’s Campaign for Grade-Level Reading Initiative 
and as the coordinating agency for an innovative effort 
to reverse summer learning loss for young Richmond 
readers. 

The “From Summer Slide to Summer Success” project 
is developing and evaluating a summer reading inter¬ 
vention implemented in five classrooms within four 
non-library summer recreation sites. The project was 
conceived to engage hard-to-reach non-library users 
over the summer. Library staff believed linking a lit¬ 
eracy curriculum with recreational summer programs 
offered an effective and replicable outreach strategy. 

The curriculum, developed in partnership with the 
Virginia Commonwealth University Literacy Institute, 
includes three components as well as an assessment. 
The components include a staff read-aloud, daily inde¬ 
pendent reading, and “buddy reading,” with opportuni¬ 
ties for daily writing, all tied to a summer theme, for 
example, “water.” The library identifies popular book 
titles for each reading level to fit the theme. The the¬ 
matic approach to the curriculum creates an easy bridge 
to the recreation programs. The library then serves as 
the hub for additional literacy-based activities, including 
participation in the library’s Summer Reading Program. 


Program evaluation uses a pre-/post-test approach. 
Prior to implementing the project, the evaluation team 
will assess individual child needs with standard evalu¬ 
ative tools, and the program will be adjusted accord¬ 
ingly to best meet the needs of participating children. 
In addition, project leaders will assess capacity of library 
staff and availability of other library resources to sup¬ 
port recreation staff as literacy partners. By establish¬ 
ing a consistent baseline for participating children, the 
library will be able to determine whether children’s’ lit¬ 
eracy skills decreased, stayed the same, or improved as a 
result of the program. 


















PITTSBURGH: A LIVING LEARNING 
COMMUNITY ALIVE WITH CREATIVITY 
AND OPPORTUNITY 

The Greater Pittsburgh Region is developing a 21st cen¬ 
tury model to provide children of all ages with opportu¬ 
nities for creative, collaborative, and connected learning. 
Leading this regional effort is the Kids+Creativity Net¬ 
work, a consortium of more than 100 organizations, 
including university-based research labs, museums, 
libraries and informal learning institutions, school dis¬ 
tricts and educational start-ups, child-serving agencies, 
and civic leaders. Supported by the region’s philan¬ 
thropic community, and more recently through the The 
Sprout Fund, the network has been meeting, exchanging 
ideas, and collaborating since 2007. 

To support early childhood education, The Fred Rogers 
Center maintains the Early Learning Environment, or 
Ele™, an online hub where educators, families, and 
others who care for young children can find and share 
quality digital resources that support early learning and 
development. 

With a specific focus on early literacy, the United Way 
of Allegheny County is coordinating a new early child¬ 
hood education affinity group to act as the early liter¬ 
acy task force supporting the Pittsburgh Campaign for 
Grade-Level Reading. 

The Allegheny County Library Association (ACLA) 
supports the language and literacy development of 
young children through programs such as Questyinz, 
an online club that engages young readers in interactive 
challenges that connect their book learning with their 


lived experience. During summer 2012, children read 
for more than 2.5 million minutes and completed more 
than 150,000 learning activities. 

The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh has developed digi¬ 
tal technologies like the My Story Maker program, a 
game-based tool that helps children compose stories by 
placing characters and objects on a storyboard template, 
bringing it to life with their own ideas. Kids then share 
their stories through digital publication and printing. 
The Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh has been a leader 
in supporting learning for young children and families 
throughout the Greater Pittsburgh region. The museum 
houses two Pittsburgh Public School Head Start class¬ 
rooms and an office of the LTiversity of Pittsburgh 
Center for Learning in Out-of-School Environments 
(UPCLOSE), a research initiative studying informal 
learning institutions. The museum’s MAKESHOP is 
a do-it-yourself maker space integrating hands-on and 
digital media and production experiences with inquiry- 
based learning, early literacy, and STEM. 

The Children’s Museum has also played a central role 
in the development of Pittsburgh’s Northside neighbor¬ 
hood. The museum’s Charm Bracelet project brought 
together over 20 cultural, recreational, and educational 
organizations to create a linked and easily navigated 
system of opportunities and experiences for families 
and children, including the Pittsburgh Mini-Maker 
Faire. The museum recently partnered with the Pitts¬ 
burgh Association for the Education of Young Children 
(PAEYC) to offer members and families significantly 
reduced admission, a service also provided to those 
holding EBT public assistance cards. 


36 









MIAMI SCIENCE MUSEUM: EVALUATING 
THE IMPACT OF A COMPREHENSIVE 
EARLY LEARNING SCIENCE CURRIC¬ 
ULUM ON CHILDREN ANDTEACHERS 

The Center for Interactive Learning at the Miami Sci¬ 
ence Museum is a joint venture with the University of 
Miami. Designed to link informal science education 
and the formal education and research community, 
the Center developed the Early Childhood Hands-on 
Science (ECHOS®) model, which includes a com¬ 
prehensive early learning science curriculum, a set 
of assessment tools and a professional development 
program. ECHOS’s goal is to investigate science as a 
domain for enhancing school readiness and to demon¬ 
strate that young children can learn fundamental sci¬ 
ence concepts and the process skills associated with 
higher-order thinking. The fully developed preschool 
science curriculum consists of nine units, each con¬ 
taining four guided week-long science lessons that are 
introduced in 20-minute segments to small groups of 
children. A teacher assistant and/or volunteer simulta¬ 
neously works with the balance of the children using 
related integration cards in three domains: language/ 
literacy, math, and creative arts. 

The 36 ECHOS lessons follow a project-designed learn¬ 
ing sequence providing teachers with a logical structure 
to deliver lessons that combines direct instruction with 
guided inquiry-based science experiences and explora¬ 
tion. The “E-I-E-I-O” learning framework offers teach¬ 
ers an instructional roadmap to walk children through a 
consistent series of steps: Excite...to create interest and 
generate curiosity; Introduce...to undertake the inves¬ 
tigation; Explore...to deepen understanding through 


questioning, making prediction, recording data, and 
looking for patterns; Interact...as needed to respond 
to individual strengths and needs; and Outcomes... 
to observe evidence of learning and determine need 
to re-teach key concepts. The museum’s website at 
www.miamisci.org/echos contains short videos of the 
program in action. 

A quasi-experimental study conducted by the Univer¬ 
sity of Miami in 30 Miami-Dade County Head Start 
classrooms examined the efficacy of the curriculum. 
Results found significant differences between teach¬ 
ers and children in ECHOS classrooms as opposed 
to classrooms where ECHOS was not implemented. 
Teachers in the ECHOS classrooms exhibited more 
science-related behavior and felt more comfortable 
teaching science. Children in the ECHOS classrooms 
also exhibited higher rates of science behavior and 
scored higher on science readiness tests. A subsequent 
two-year Randomized Control Trial in 90 Head Start 
classrooms is nearing completion. 

Analyses at the end of the first year show preliminary 
evidence for the effectiveness of ECHOS that is con¬ 
sistent with the previous study. A series of repeated- 
measures analysis of variance (ANOYA) revealed that 
ECHOS teachers significantly improved their scores in 
use of instructional strategies associated with higher- 
order thinking skills, specifically predicting, investigat¬ 
ing, and evaluating, across the year, while control group 
teachers did not. 




















BOSTON CHILDREN'S MUSEUM: 

FROM COMMUNITY-WIDE TO 
STATEWIDE IMPACT 

The Boston Children’s Museum, now celebrating its 
centenary, led museums nationwide in focusing on 
children zero to three. In 1998, the museum began a 
partnership with Action for Boston Community Devel¬ 
opment Head Start that led, in 2003, to Countdown 
to Kindergarten, a multi-institutional, private-public 
partnership that aims to enhance early learning oppor¬ 
tunities with a focus on the transition to kindergarten. 

In 2010, the museum opened a permanent Countdown 
to Kindergarten exhibit that simulates a kindergarten 
classroom. Children and families engage in hands-on 
activities while familiarizing themselves with the kin¬ 
dergarten environment. Adults can ask staff “teachers” 
questions about the kindergarten registration process, 
child development milestones, and school readiness. 
Children can practice taking turns, making a friend, or 
sitting in a group circle to hear a story. The classroom 
has areas for math and science, dramatic play, reading 
and writing, and creative arts. Since opening in August 
2010, the exhibit has welcomed 1.7 million visitors. Over 
6,000 people participated in the past three Countdown 
to Kindergarten celebrations and 5,000 people from 
community groups participated in 33 Friday School 
Readiness Friday nights. 

The museum’s leadership in Boston’s early learn¬ 
ing community has led to its major role in the Com¬ 
monwealth of Massachusetts’ Race to the Top Early 
Learning Challenge Grant. The Commonwealth’s 



Department of Early Education and Care engaged the 
museum as a core partner in its family engagement and 
school readiness activities. The museum has mobi¬ 
lized 55 libraries and 68 museums across the state to 
bring their content, expertise, and programs to families 
and to strengthen connections with the Coordinated 
Family and Community Engagement (CFCE) special¬ 
ists throughout the state to connect with the hardest 
to reach populations. (Public libraries currently house 
state-supported Early Childhood Resource Centers.) A 
state-level team led by Boston Children’s Museum staff 
is conducting a series of regional meetings designed to 
facilitate connections across CFCE grantees and local 
libraries and museums to bring these communities the 
early learning and service supports they need. 

The focus areas of the statewide museum and library 
activities (which build on the Boston Children’s Museum 
expertise and professional development experience) 
have been STEM learning (with the Boston Children’s 
Museum distributing STEM kits to all the partner 
organizations), school readiness, early literacy, and par¬ 
ticipation in the “Brain Building in Progress” public 
awareness campaign spearheaded by the State Depart¬ 
ment of Early Education and Care and the United Way 
of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley. Participat¬ 
ing libraries and museums receive a “pop-up” kinder¬ 
garten classroom kit in a box filled with resource sheets, 
DVDs, and graphics they can use to create a kinder¬ 
garten classroom program in their institutions. In addi¬ 
tion, the Boston Children’s Museum’s school readiness 
play, “DW Counts Down to Kindergarten,” will be pre¬ 
sented at several sites across the state. 


38 











Growing Young Minds 





BALTIMORE CITY: JOINING FORCES FOR care programs that lack other access to literacy-based 
SCHOOL READINESS services and materials. 


In Baltimore, libraries, museums, community agencies, 
city officials, schools, preschools, and Head Start pro¬ 
grams are focused on making sure all young children, 
from birth, have the opportunities they need to start 
school ready to learn. 

1 

Together, the Enoch Pratt Library and The Walters 
Art Museum play active roles in community-based ini¬ 
tiatives such as the annual Countdown to Kindergarten 
Celebration and PreK at Play event that brings young 
children and their families into the community to 
explore cultural, recreational, and neighborhood sites. 
Leaders from each institution routinely convene all 
library and museum providers in the city to plan ways 
to engage families. In addition, both have worked to 
align their programs and services with the Maryland 
Department of Education’s Maryland Model for School 
Readiness. 

The Enoch-Pratt’s summer learning programs include 
a partnership with the Department of Parks and Recre¬ 
ation and the School District for the “Super Summer” 
program that targets underperforming readers. The 
program combines a half day of district-run summer 
school with wrap-around services from recreation cen¬ 
ters to provide a full day of enrichment and targeted 
intervention. Other summer programs include an 
incentive-based reading program begun in the 1930s 
with a comprehensive set of enrichment opportuni¬ 
ties, and an outreach program, “Summer Reading in 
a Kit,” bringing books, reading logs, and incentives to 
community-based programs such as church-run day 


At the Walters, education programs are designed to 
“grow with families,” offering a menu of offerings scaf¬ 
folded across stages of child development. Children’s 
developmental needs are supported through age-appro¬ 
priate, object-based, and art-integrated learning experi¬ 
ences, including Waltee’s Cubs Baby Programs, ArtTots 
Toddler Programs, ArtKids Preschool Programs, and 
Start with Art Preschool Programs. 

Enoch Pratt Free Library and Baltimore Department 
of Health staff members co-chair the school readiness 
committee of Baltimore City’s Campaign for Grade- 
Level Reading. This joint leadership grew out of a part¬ 
nership between the two organizations, which targeted 
young hrst-time mothers to increase their abilities to 
support their children’s early literacy development. 
Trained by library staff to deliver the Every Child 
Ready to Read model, home health care workers pro¬ 
vide guidance and information to young parents during 
home visits. 



39 














SCHOOL LIBRARIES AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT 


School Librarians Are Linked 
to Improved Standardized 
Reading Test Scores 


Studies conducted over the past two decades, both in 
Colorado and nationwide, show that students in schools 
with endorsed librarians score better on standardized 
achievement tests in reading, compared with students 
in schools without endorsed librarians. 



SCHOOL 





LIBRARIAN 



IMPROVED READING SCORES 


THIS INCREASE IN SCORES EXISTS REGARDLESS OF: 

Student Poverty Level' 

Q = tS 

In a Colorado study, the presence of school librarians In a national study, even if schools had overall staff 

positively impacted students'standardized reading declines between 2004 and 2008, students'standardized 

scores even when controlling for student poverty reading scores were better in schools that maintained 

(free and reduced-cost meal status). or gained a librarian during this time period. 


Overall Staffing Losses ; 


* • • • 

V > 1 \ 


fIf!!!! 


2004 


2008 


WHAT OTHER SCHOOL LIBRARY CHARACTERISTICS ARE ASSOCIATED 

WITH BETTER TEST SCORES? 


School Librarians Teaching 
Information Literacy Skills 
to Students 3 a 



Staffed by 
Endorsed 
Librarian 1 



Collaborative 

Planning 

Between 

School 

Librarians 

and 

Teachers 

3,4 



Extended Library and Staff Hours 3 



School Librarians Providing 
In-Service Training to Teachers 3 



Larger and Newer Collections 3AS 
©2013 

= 


More Student Visits 5 



Flexible Scheduling 3 

I I I 


Higher Expenditures 3AS 





















ARLINGTON COUNTY, VIRGINIA: 
SCHOOL LIBRARIES MAKING A 
DIFFERENCE 

School librarians in Arlington County Public Schools 
(APS) play an integral role in school-wide efforts to 
advance children’s reading skills. Through collection 
planning and acquisition, school libraries support read¬ 
ing proficiency across the developmental continuum, 
reading and technology specialists working with librar¬ 
ians and teachers to address remedial and advanced 
reading needs. For children with special needs, library 
resources include oral reading, interactive technology, 
role play, and audio and video accommodations. Assess¬ 
ment data enable the librarian, teachers, and specialists 
to work together to guide instruction and offer special 
learning experiences, such as hosting visiting authors or 
implementing reading initiatives. 

Schools have a strong relationship with local public 
libraries and museums, using their resources to 
enhance and expand school-based instruction. To 
address the issue of summer learning loss, school and 
public librarians jointly plan reading incentives and 


an end-of-the-year transition from the school library 
to the public library. Virginia is not a Common Core 
Standards (CCSS) state, but APS has established cross¬ 
system collaboration to link public school teachers, 
specialists, school librarians, and public librarians to 
provide children access to robust and relevant experi¬ 
ences and resources, called for in the state’s Standards of 
Learning, which build needed skills and knowledge. As 
digital hubs, school libraries provide students access to 
high-quality technology resources. Librarians use tech¬ 
nology to model knowledge integration across content 
areas and plan differentiated instruction approaches 
based on student needs and interests. 

In one Arlington school, students are being introduced 
to a problem-based learning model (PBL) for teaching 
STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) at 
the elementary level. Digital capacity and collections 
place school libraries at the center of this work. Col¬ 
laboration between the librarian, technology special¬ 
ist, teachers, and instructional specialists has resulted 
in a cultural shift in the school and increased students’ 
abilities to document their learning through a variety of 
tools and apps. 


OOOO»X>O<X><X><XX><><XX>O<X><><X>O<>O<>O<X><X>O<>OO<X><X><>0<><><><>O<><X>O<><><><Xx>^00000«X><X><X><X><>0<><><X>C><X><>0<X><><X>0<>0<XX><X><>C><XX><XXX>0000<X><><x>00000<><X>0 

INFOGRAPHIC NOTES 


See www.lrs.org/data-tools/school-libraries/impact-studies for a list of school 
library impact studies. 

1. Lance, K. C., & Hofschire, L. (2012). Change in school librarian staffing 
linked with change in CSAP reading performance, 2005 to 2011. Retrieved from 
www.lrs.org/documents/closer_look/CO4_2012_Closer_Look_Report.pdf 

2. Lance, K. C., & Hofschire, L. (2011, September 1). Something to shout about: 
New research shows that more librarians means higher reading scores. 
School Library Journal. Retrieved from www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/ 
printissue/currentissue/891612-427/something_to_shout_about_new. 
html.csp 


3. Lance, K. C. (2000). How school librarians help kids achieve standards: The 
second Colorado study. Salt Lake City: Hi Willow Research and Publishing. 

4. Lance, K. C. (1993). The impact of school library media centers on academic 
achievement. Salt Lake City: Hi Willow Research and Publishing. 

5. Francis, H.B., Lance, K. C„ & Lietzau Z. (2010). School librarians continue 
to help students achieve standards: The third Colorado study. Retrieved 
from www.lrs.org/documents/closer_look/C03_2010_Closer_Look_ 
Report.pdf 

Courtesy of the Library Research Service, Colorado State Library. 



















ENDNOTES 


1. Grunewald, R., & Rolnick, A. (2003, March). “Early Childhood 
Development: Economic Development in a High Public Return.” 
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display.cfm?id=3832; Heckman, J. (2008, September). “The Case 
for Investing in Disadvantaged Young Children,” in First Focus, 
Big Ideas for Children: Investing in Our Nation’s Future; Heckman, J. 
(2011, Spring). “The Economics of Inequality: The Value of Early 
Childhood Education.” American Educator 35:31-47; Heckman, 

J. (2013, February). “Schools, Skills and Synapses” presentation 

to the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry, accessed 
online April 2013 at www.heckmanequation.org/content/resource/ 
schools-skills-synapses; Mission: Readiness, Military Leaders 
for Kids. (2010). “Our Troubled Education System: A Threat 
to National Security. High Quality Early Education and Other 
School Reforms Cannot Wait.” www.missionreadiness.org/2011/ 
our-troubled-education-system-a-threat-to-national-security; 
www.heckmanequation.org; Ready Nation. (2013). “Championing 
Success: Business Organizations for Early Childhood Invest¬ 
ments.” Washington, DC: America’s Promise Alliance. 
www.readynation.org/uploads//20130423_ReadyNationACCEFull 
ReportFinal.pdf 

2. Miller, C., Zickuhr, K., Rainie, L., & Purcell, K. (2013). Parents' 
and Children's Special Relationship with Reading and Libraries. 
Washington, DC: Pew Research Center. 

3. Swan, D. W, & Manjarrez, C. A. (2013). Children's Visitation 
to Libraries and Museums. Research Brief series, no. 1 (IMLS- 
2013-RB-01). Washington, DC: Institute of Museum and Library 
Services. 

4. Duncan, G., Ziol-Guest, K., & Kalil, A. (2010, February). 
“Early-Childhood Poverty and Adult Attainment, Behavior, 
and Health.” Child Development, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ 
doi/10.1111/j. 1467-8624.2009.01396.x/full; Duncan, G., et al. 
(2007). “School Readiness and Later Achievement.” Developmen¬ 
tal Psychology 43, no. 6: 1428-1446; Hernandez, D. (2011, April). 
“Double Jeopardy: How Third-Grade Reading Skills and Poverty 
Influence High School Graduation.” Baltimore, MD: Annie E. 
Casey Foundation. www.aecf.org/KnowledgeCenter/Publications. 
aspx?pubguid={8E2B6F93-75C6-4AA6-8C6E-CE88945980A9} ; 
Isaacs, J. (2012, March 19). “Starting School at a Disadvantaged: 
The School Readiness of Poor Children.” Washington, DC: The 
Brookings Institution, Center on Children and Families; Neuman, 


S. B., & Celano, D. (2012). Giving Our Children a Fighting Chance: 
Poverty , Literacy and the Development of Information Capital. New 
York: Teachers College Press, Columbia University. 

5. Pellegrino, J., & Hilton, M. (Eds.) (2012). Education for Life and 
Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and Skills for the 21st 
Century. Washington, DC: National Research Council. 

6. Duncan, G., et al. (2007). “School Readiness and Later Achieve¬ 
ment.” Developmental Psychology 43, no. 6: 1428-1446; Hernandez, 
D. (2011, April). “Double Jeopardy: How Third-Grade Reading 
Skills and Poverty Influence High School Graduation.” Baltimore, 
MD: Annie E. Casey Foundation. www.aecf.org/Knowledge 
Center/Publications.aspx?pubguid={8E2B6F93-75C6-4 AA6- 
8C6E-CE88945980A9}; Isaacs, J. (2012, March 19). “Start¬ 
ing School at a Disadvantaged: The School Readiness of Poor 
Children.” Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution, Center 
on Children and Families; Neuman, S. B., & Celano, D. (2012). 
Giving Our Children a Fighting Chance: Poverty , Literacy and the 
Development of Information Capital. New York: Teachers College 
Press, Columbia University. 

7. Child Trends Data Bank. (2013). Retrieved online at 
www.childtrendsdatabank.org 

8. Brooks, D. (2012, July 10). “The Opportunity Gap.” The New York 
Times; Neuman, S. B., & Celano, D. (2012). Giving Our Children a 
Fighting Chance: Poverty, Literacy and the Development of Information 
Capital. New York: Teachers College Press, Columbia University. 

9. Bruner, C. (2004). Beyond the Usual Suspects: Developing New Allies 
to Invest in School Readiness. Resource Brief. Des Moines, LA: State 
Early Childhood Policy Technical Assistance Network; Bruner, 

C., Stover Wright, M., Noor Tirmizi, S., & the School Readiness, 
Culture, and Language Working Group of the Annie E. Casey 
Foundation. (2007). Village Building and School Readiness: Closing 
Opportunity Gaps in a Diverse Society. Resource Brief. Des Moines, 
IA: State Early Childhood Policy Technical Assistance Network. 

10. Swan, D. W., Grimes, J., Owens, T., Vese, Jr., R. D., Miller, K., 
Arroyo, J., Craig, T., Dorinski, S., Freeman, M., Isaac, N., O’Shea, 
P., Schilling, P., & Scotto, J. (2013). Public Libraries Survey: Fiscal 
Year 2010 (IMLS-2013-PLS-01). Washington, DC: Institute of 
Museum and Library Sendees. www.imls.gov/assets/1/Asset 
Manager/PLS2010.pdf 


42 








Growing Young Minds 



11. Miller, C., Zickuhr, K., Rainie, L., & Purcell, K. (2013). Par¬ 
ents' and Children's Special Relationship with Reading and Libraries. 
Washington, DC: Pew Research Center, pp. 3, 5-6, 8, 47. 

12. Graves, B. (2006). “PK-3: What is it and how do we know it 
works?” FCD Policy Brief: Advancing PK-3 , no. 4. New York: 
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LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS 


The following people participated in a consultative session on 
December 5, 2012 , to inform the developmen t of this report. 


Andrew Ackerman, Children’s Museum of Manhattan 

Shirley Amore, Denver Public Libraries 

Julia Bland, Louisiana Children’s Museum 

Clara Bohrer, West Bloomfield Township Public 
Library 

Claudine Brown, Smithsonian Institution 

Judy Brown, Miami Science Museum 

Miriam Calderon, formerly at U.S. Department of 
Health and Human Services and the White House 
Domestic Policy Council 

Jeffrey Capizzano, Policy Equity Group 

Alison Circle, Columbus Metropolitan Library 

Harriet Coalter, Richmond Public Library 

Gerry Cobb, The BUILD Initiative 

Kathleen Deerr, Family Place Libraries™ 

Eliza Dresang, University of Washington 

Lisa Guernsey, New America Foundation 

Ann Joslin, Idaho Commission for Libraries 

Kimberly Kiehl, Smithsonian Early Enrichment 
Center 

Cheryl McCallum, Houston Children’s Museum 

Dale McCreedy, Franklin Institute 

Elizabeth Orsburn, Free Library of Philadelphia 

Joseph Prevratil, Archstone Foundation; Long Beach 
Public Library Foundation 



Debbie Reese, American Indians in Children’s 
Literature 

Jeri Robinson, Boston Children’s Museum 

Gloria Rubio-Cortes, National Civic League 

Tonja Rucker, National League of Cities 

Shannon Rudisill, U.S. Department of Health and 
Human Services 

Raymond Santiago, Miami-Dade Public Library 
System 

Nina Sazer-O’Donnell, National Results and Equity 
Collaborative 

Albert Wat, National Governors Association 

The following additional people were interviewed for this 
report. 

Francie Alexander, Scholastic, Inc. 

Stephanie Bailey-White, Idaho Commission for 
Libraries 

Gregg Behr, The Grable Foundation 

Emily Blumenthal, Walters Art Museum 

Janet Brown, Institute for Educational Leadership 

Charles Bruner, The BUILD Initiative 

Cen Campbell, Santa Clara County Library District 

Rita Catalano, Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning 
and Children’s Media 

Reba Dominski, Target 

Janet Elman, Association of Children’s Museums 

Kelly Fisher, Global Abilities Foundation, SRCD/ 
AAAS Fellow 










Dana Friedman, The Early Years Institute 

Ellen Galinsky, Families and Work Institute 

Paula Gangopadhyay, The Henry Ford 

Richard Gonzales, U.S. Department of Health and 
Human Services 

Susan Hibbard, The BUILD Initiative 

Steven Hicks, U.S. Department of Education 

Lindy Hoyer, Omaha Children’s Museum 

Sharon Lynn Kagan, Columbia LYnversity and Yale 
University’s Child Study Center 

Philip Katz, American Alliance of Museums 

Linda Landsman, The Early Years Institute, The 
Rauch Foundation 

Michael Levine, Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame 
Workshop 

Davida McDonald, U.S. Department of Health and 
Human Services 

Susan Neuman, University of Michigan 

Michael Nobleza, Children’s Creativity Museum 

Hon. Barbara O’Brien, Get Smart Schools and 
Campaign for Grade-Level Reading 


Ngozi Onunaku, U.S. Department of Health and 
Human Services 

Ellen Riordan, Enoch Pratt Free Library 

S. Kwesi Rollins, Institute for Educational Leadership 

Tom Schultz, Council of Chief State School Officers 

Deborah Schwartz, President, Brooklyn Historical 
Society 

Ann Segal, Wellspring Advisors 

Kathy Shahbodaghi, Columbus Metropolitan Library 

Gail Silberglied, American Alliance of Museums 

Rob Stein, Dallas Museum of Art 

Barbara Stripling, Syracuse University 

Julie Walker, American Association of School Libraries 

Heather Weiss, Harvard Family Research Project 

Gerrit Westervelt, The BLTLD Initiative 

Ena Wood, Arlington Public Schools 

Marty Zaslow, Society for Research on Childhood 
Development 


















ABOUT THE INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES 


The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 
libraries and 17,500 museums. Our mission is to inspire libraries and museums to advance innovation, lifelong 
learning, and cultural and civic engagement. Our grant making, policy development, and research help libraries 
and museums deliver valuable services that make it possible for communities and individuals to thrive. To learn 
more, visit www.imls.gov and follow us on Facebookwww.facebook.com/USIMLS and Twitter @US_IMLS. 

This report was made possible through our partnership with the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, Ralph 
Smith, Managing Director. 



46 










Growing Young Minds 



PHOTOGRAPHY: 

Cover, page 20, and page 23: Susie Fitzhugh 

Table of Contents top right and page 13: Courtesy of the Omaha Children’s Museum 

Table of Contents top left and page 14: Bill Gallery, courtesy of the Boston Children’s Museum 

Table of Contents bottom: Patrick Bennett, courtesy of the King County Library System 

Page 3: Paul Spect, courtesy of the Boston Children’s Museum 

Page 4: Patrick Bennett, courtesy of the Washington’s King County Library System 

Page 5: Jason Miczek 

Page 7: Courtesy of the Discovery Science Center 

Page 8: Chris Tumbusch, courtesy of the Pierce County Library System 

Page 16: Courtesy of the Omaha Children’s Museum 

Page 17: Roger Mastroianni, courtesy of the Cuyahoga County Public Library 

Page 18: Bruce Silcox, courtesy of the Minnesota Children’s Museum 

Page 19: Aaron Deetz, courtesy of the New York Historical Society 

Page 21: Courtesy of Amazement Square 

Page 22: Courtesy of the Jefferson County Public Library 

Page 24: Diana Guay, courtesy of the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art 

Page 25: Tory Read 

Page 31: Courtesy of the Children’s Museum of Manhattan 

Page 32: Courtesy of the Idaho Commission for Libraries 

Page 33: Courtesy of the Children’s Museum of Houston 

Page 36: Renee Rosensteel, courtesy of the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh 

Page 37: Romina Pastorelli, courtesy of the Miami Science Museum 

Page 38: Robert Benson, courtesy of the Boston Children’s Museum 

Page 39: Courtesy of the Enoch Pratt Free Library 

Inside back cover: Jason Burt Photography, courtesy of the Museum of Discovery 
DESIGN: Shagas Design 


47 




















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